Life

A wise man that I met a few weeks ago said of life, "It makes you laugh, it makes you weep." The more I learn the more I realize it's true. It's possible to go through life somewhat disengaged. I however, prefer to get swept up in the current of life. There is no time that I realize the power of life more than when I consider the five senses we have to experience life. Each sense can experience profound levels of joy.
Sight, smell , taste, touch, and hearing. Each unlocks new beauty. There is always beauty around, often ignored. Right now I can turn to see the rain fall, the wind blowing softly through the trees. A Chopin record is playing in the background, the taste of my coffee, there are divine gifts surrounding me, waiting only to be noticed.
What better place is there for a Michael Chrichton quote, from The Lost World? Malcolm the mathematician is discussing all sorts of philosophical theories with two young kids and Thorne, an engineer, dismisses them with a wave telling the kids,
..you feel the way the boat moves? That's the sea. That's real.
You smell the salt in the air? You feel the sunlight on your skin?
That's all real. You see all of us together? That's real. Life is
wonderful. It's a gift to be alive, to see the sun and breathe the air.

Life is also a pendulum though, swinging from joy to tragedy with unpredictable swiftness. Each sense, a double edged sword revealing beauty and also cutting to the core of the heart.
Yesterday I learned that a friend died in a car wreck. I never knew her really well, but she came to our house countless times, I can picture her laugh clear as if she were here beside me. Life, it makes you laugh, it makes you weep.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.